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Invoicing sucks. It can be highly tedious with tons of numbers and something that people may leave to the last minute. But it is absolutely crucial if you want your business to maintain an organized and positive cash flow. In order to get compensated for your goods or services on time, there are some mistakes you have to avoid! Capitalize on opportunities and don’t let them slide by!

1) Procrastination

It’s not college anymore. You can’t leave things to the last minute. The best time to send out an invoice is immediately following the completion of a sale.

2) Having unclear terms

When writing out an invoice, avoid using vague language. If you want the client to pay the invoice in a timely manner- make sure that you include a clear state item description, prices, and quantities.

3) Not itemizing services

Some clients require a detailed and itemize service breakdown. For many customers, it can be a matter of procedure and helps tracking, recording and reporting expenses.

4) Poor formatting or editing

Always make sure that your invoice looks super tidy as the button down white shirt you are wearing. Spelling errors, incorrect dollar amounts, and generic formatting can make your business look unprofessional. It can also prevent you from receiving correct payments on time. Always make sure you double check and proofread your invoices- so you can catch them before they are sent out.

5) Not understanding invoice factoring

Invoice factoring is a popular option when you need funding fast. In a nutshell, it is an option that you can sell unpaid invoices to an invoice factoring company for cash–*hint* GOT CAPITAL OFFERS THIS*

6) Not branding your invoices

Having a company logo on your invoice can verify it to be an established brand and differentiates you from other invoices that your clients are receiving. You can also take advantage of this to vamp up your branding opportunity and awareness!

7) Not taking your invoice as a marketing opportunity

Invoices can be a great medium for your company and your customer- to know more about your products. You can use the invoice as a marketing tool- this can have a positive effect and increase your revenue! When you send out an invoice, try including marketing materials such as newsletters or promotional flyers.

8) Sending an invoice with hidden charges

This is a massive no-no. Transparency is key to any business-to-business relationship. When sending an invoice, each charge should match the terms and expectations as agreed upon by both parties.

Bottom-line: Avoid these common mistakes businesses make when they send out invoices- as a business owner you should always strive for a streamlined transaction process. Cash flow is critical to managing day-to-day operations and is key to maintain a stable organizational structure.

What mistakes do you think are also important to address?

Please comment below – we would love to hear what the rest of the business community is saying!

Out of all of her friends, Pam was always the one who knew the latest about health and beauty products. Ever she was a child she always dreamt of opening her own store. She thought to herself, how can she make her neighborhood more healthy?- She then decided to open her own health and beauty product store. When the time came to open her own store in a busy boutique street in Chinatown, New York…she was ecstatic! But when the holiday’s came-she underestimated the amount of traffic she would receive.

Pam was in panic! She was very close to be under-stocked and overwhelmed. She was very limited in monetary resources to provide her store with more stock. She went to her local bank-waited around two hours for a conversation that was ten minutes.

The bank needed collateral from Pam and the process would take around 2 months for her to be refunded. Unfortunately, a two month wait was no good for Pam she had to have her stock in time for the holidays!

Pam’s frustrations quickly turned into a panic-she did not want to let her customers down. The holiday season has always been the time when Pam’s business saw a massive hike in profit-since heath products are a great gift for a loved one.

The light bulb on top of Pam’s head lit up! She quickly remembered when her friend Andreas Soto needed quick funds when his mechanic shop needed new equipment. Andreas discovered Yalber.

Yalber provides quick and easy funding for a business. An application takes around 5 minutes and a business can get approved within hours-but quicker than a bank. What makes Yalber different from other sources of funding is the fact that Yalber does not have fixed repayments or a time frame like most loans have; Yalber likes to take away the stress from merchants- so you have more time concentrating on your business than debt. Businesses can be unpredictable sometimes and Yalber gets that; so even if Pam’s business didn’t go well as expected, she does not have to worry about repaying the balance at all. Yalber is a non-debt financing option for businesses. Wondering how it works? Yalber invests in businesses that generate revenue from products or services. Yalber collects a royalty, or a percentage of your business’s future receivables in exchange for an up front-investment. Unlike other royalty investments, Yalber does not receive royalties of your business’s sales for the life of your business. Instead, the royalties we receive is limited to a specific amount.Once the amount has been paid, the royalty is returned back to your business

Pam went on the Yalber site and could not believe how easy it was to apply and receive funding. The next day the funds were in her business account and she then had the opportunity to restock her boutique. Her customers were happy, and she was relieved!

The Yalber way helps ease the moments of panic many merchants have during the holidays. Please contact us to learn more!

Get the funds your business needs. Today.

Connect with a Yalber representative by calling us or submitting an online application

Marketing plays an important role in establishing relationships between customers and businesses. Marketing also helps maximize profit and exposure of a company. But however, if done incorrectly it can have an opposite effect!

1) Failing to set goals

For digital marketing-the rule of thumb is to be ROI focused. But is also very important to be goal orientated. Failure to set goals could be a way to ensure the failure of a campaign. Decide what you want your marketing campaign to achieve-set goals and timelines. However, it is important to keep in mind that setting goals may seem easy-but it is important to be as precise, measurable, realistic and attainable…as possible.

Bottom Line:

Having clear set goals help you monitor benchmarks along the way and identify if changes need to be made.

2) Lack of Research

Market research and testing are crucial because they can determine the performance of each of your marketing efforts. They take the guesswork out of what your potential customer wants from you. With proper research and testing you can figure out what audience demographic does your company appeal most to and how you should position your product.

Bottom Line: Research helps you learn more about your customer and the right ways you can market your products to build brand awareness.

3) Failing to Capture Repeat Customers

Customer retention is an important marketing business strategy that helps increase profits and reduce turn-around rates. Always keep in mind a huge chunk of your business profits comes from existing customers. Failing to resell to your current customer base could result in lower profit and lower retention rates.

Bottom Line: Don’t let your customer go to your competitor.

4) Being Anti-Social…Media

Social Media can be like being at a cocktail party and having to talk to people you were avoiding for the past 20 years. But social media can also be like a cocktail party and having to talk to people that you have been missing for 20 years. Social media can be a great way for a company to get exposure. It is also a crucial component on how to boost your company site’s SEO. You can use lower-cost social media strategies and increase traffic to your website.

Bottom Line: Social Media is a great tool to increase customer acquisition and traffic to your website.

5) Aggressive email blasts

Email marketing is a great tool to build brand awareness and engage with your customers! But sometimes, it is easy to forget the importance of proper audience segmentation. Aggressive email blasts affect deliverability and increases the chances of customers putting your much important email in the dreaded folder…Spam.

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Got Capital offers responsible business financing products such as royalty-based investment, purchase of future receivables and merchant cash advance. These products are not short-term loans or consumer loans.